Crysis (series)
Crysis is a series of science fiction first-person shooter video games developed by Crytek and published by Electronic Arts. The series revolves around a group of military protagonists with "nanosuits," technologically advanced suits of armor that allow them to gain enhanced physical strength, speed, defense, and cloaking abilities. The protagonists face off against both hostile North Korean soldiers as well as ice-based aliens who have come to Earth for unclear reasons. As of 2011, the series consists of an original installment, a standalone spinoff with a separate multiplayer title, a compilation, and a sequel. A second sequel is in development. Common gameplay elements Characters in Crysis use nanosuits, advanced suits developed by the military that grant them special abilities. "Maximum Armor" gives the suit wearer heightened defenses to withstand more bullets than an ordinary man; "Maximum Strength" gives the wearer greatly enhanced strength and agility, to the point of being able to punch cars through the air; and "Maximum Speed" causes the wearer to run at extremely fast speeds. Additionally, the suits contain a cloaking element to make the user near-invisible. Crysis and Crysis Warhead take place on an unspecified island in the Lingshan Islands, off the Philippines. The first two protagonists, Nomad and Psycho, belonged to "Raptor Team," a United States special forces operation that is sent to the island to investigate aggressive behavior by North Korea. The player uses various weapons, including traditional projectile weapons like handguns, submachine guns, assault rifles, and sniper rifles, as well as explosives and the nanosuit's natural abilities. Multiplayer gameplay modes introduce fictional futuristic weapons based on the ice technology introduced by the alien antagonists who reside on the island. In singleplayer, Raptor Team faces off against both the North Korean military and these alien foes. In Crysis 2, a marine named Alcatraz is given a nanosuit by Prophet, a character from the original games, and proceeds to fight both human and alien enemies as New York City is turned into a war zone. Main series ''Crysis'' (2007) Main article: Crysis After Helena Rosenthal sends a distress signal saying the North Koreans are invading the seemingly unimportant island on which her team is working, the US government dispatches Raptor Team, a group of nanosuit-clad soldiers. After arriving on the island, however, Raptor Team's ranks are thinned by mysterious flying creatures, eventually leaving only Nomad, Psycho, and Prophet, who is subsequently kidnapped by the organisms. Nomad rescues Helena but is eventually trapped in the alien ship after it unleashes an "ice sphere" on the island, freezing a great deal of the island. Nomad escapes the island with Helena and an oddly-behaving Prophet, and returns to the US carrier fleet, where he finds Psycho. Prophet returns to the island, which is subsequently nuked in the attempt to kill the aliens. However, they only grow stronger from the energy. The aliens launch a massive attack on the carrier fleet, successfully destroying it. Nomad, Psycho, and Helena escape and receive a distress signal from the still-alive Prophet, and decide to return to the island. ''Crysis Warhead'' (2008) Main article: Crysis Warhead During Psycho's own mission, he was sent to retrieve a captured alien from Colonel Ji-Sung Lee and the Koreans. After numerous setbacks and the assistance of his friend Sean O'Neill, Psycho successfully defeats Lee, obtains the alien, and brings it back to the carrier fleet. At this point, the story continues in the original title. ''Crysis 2'' (2011) Main article: Crysis 2 A second group of aliens wake up underneath New York City and begin causing mass chaos. CELL, the mercenary division of Crynet Systems, takes over as the main human force against the aliens while waiting for the US military. A marine named Alcatraz is given a nanosuit by Prophet, who then shoots himself. Alcatraz meets several new allies and enemies while working to understand the mysterious connection between the aliens and the nanosuit and why Prophet killed himself. He eventually learns that Jacob Hargreave designed the suit from stolen alien technology and has devoted his life to destroying the creatures at any cost, and that Prophet's suit formed a symbiotic relationship with him after his exposure to the aliens in their ship on the island. Alcatraz uses the suit as a bioweapon to kill all of the aliens in the city, but Prophet, whose consciousness resides in the suit, explains that the Ceph have hidden ships all over the world, and the war has just begun. Alcatraz awakens in the rubble, now calling himself Prophet and using Prophet's voice. ''Crysis 3'' (2013) Main article: Crysis 3 Crytek originally announced Crysis as a trilogy of games. However, Crysis 2 was not officially greenlit until early 2009 due to lukewarm sales for the first two games. In January 2011, Crytek stated they intend to make Crysis 3 and have its story planned, but will need positive sales for Crysis 2 before proceeding. Crysis 3 was officially announced in April 2012 and will be released in February 2013. Other games and media ''Crysis Wars'' (2008) Main article: Crysis Wars The multiplayer component of Crysis Warhead is contained on a seperate disc called Crysis Wars. It contains revamped and upgraded Instant Action and Power Struggle modes and new maps. ''Crysis: Maximum Edition'' (2009) This compilation includes Crysis, Crysis Warhead, and Crysis Wars all in one package. ''Crysis'' (comic) (2011) This six-issue comic series takes place immediately after Crysis and fills in the backstory between that game and Crysis 2. Unreleased games Trademarked titles In late 2007, Crytek trademarked a number of titles; specifically Crysis Warhead, Crysis Wars, and World in Crysis. In early 2008, Crysis Annihilation was trademarked, and in May 2008, Crysis Warzone was trademarked. Only Warhead and Wars ended up being revealed as real games. The reasons for the other trademarks are unknown. Prophet spinoff After Crysis Warhead was announced as a spinoff featuring Psycho's adventures during the first game, speculation grew that Prophet, who also went missing on his own adventure, would receive a spinoff title. In 2009, a Crytek developer had "no comment" about rumors Prophet would receive his own game. Some fans noted that Prophet was not missing for nearly the same amount of time as Psycho, and additionally, his absence had major plot-related implications that would be better suited for a main series game. At E3 2009, Crysis 2 was announced, seemingly putting to rest the rumors of a Prophet spinoff. The game's story heavily features Prophet and finally explains what happened to him during the original game, and it ends with the player character, Alcatraz, merging his consciousness with Prophet's. Prophet will be the main character of Crysis 3. Category:Crysis Category:Crysis Warhead Category:Crysis 2